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Black-Owned Restaurant Month Coming to Brooklyn and Manhattan in September

By Rachel Holliday Smith | August 23, 2015 9:04pm | Updated on August 24, 2015 8:48am
 Elberta Restaurant and Bar in Prospect Heights is one of 13 restaurants participating in Black-Owned Restaurant Month, set to begin on Sept. 9.
Elberta Restaurant and Bar in Prospect Heights is one of 13 restaurants participating in Black-Owned Restaurant Month, set to begin on Sept. 9.
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Genese Jamilah/I Don't Do Clubs

BROOKLYN — For foodies looking to support black-owned restaurants, a month of good eats is coming your way.

Thirteen restaurants in Brooklyn and Manhattan are participating in Black-Owned Restaurant Month starting Sept. 9, said blogger and organizer of the event Genese Jamilah.

The idea came to her this spring after she posted a list of 100 black-owned restaurants in the city on her events and lifestyle blog, I Don’t Do Clubs, and it became one of the post popular posts ever, she said. But the concept of supporting black-owned businesses is ingrained from her upbringing in Stone Mountain, Georgia.

“My parents always felt the need to support black businesses, so growing up, we always had black doctors, black dentists,” she said.

“When I started doing the list, it was just a piggyback off of what I’ve always been taught.” 

She’s found that finding black-owned businesses, whether that includes restaurants, bars or medical practices, has been somewhat more difficult in New York than in the south, she said. So she keeps her “100” list updated all the time — and has created similar lists for Washington, D.C. and Atlanta, too.

Many of the participating restaurants next month are located in Brooklyn, including Shane’s Cafe and Elberta in Prospect Heights, The Crabby Shack in Crown Heights, and Rustik Tavern and Therapy Wine Bar in Bedford-Stuyvesant.

Most of the Manhattan-based restaurants participating are in Harlem, including Seasoned Vegan and Lolo’s Seafood Shack.

All of the restaurants are offering a special three-course meal for $35 three days a week for the month, she said. A complete list of restaurants, information about their owners and when they were founded can be found on Jamilah’s website.

No tickets or sign-ups are required to participate, she said, but those who want the Restaurant Month deal should call each spot beforehand to get the special menu.